PRS 53/10 and 59/09 pickups now for sale, but the price?

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1370 Location: Lutz, Fl.

I saw this on Harmony Central a few weeks ago, and figured someone would post about it. But no one did, so I thought I'd mention it.

It seems that PRS has made both the 53/10 and 59/09 pickups for individual sale. However, the thing that got me was the price. $199 MSRP and $179 street.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/5310Treb/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/5909Treb/

Now I realize that they bought an original winder from the 50's to make these pickups exclusively. I also understand that due to that they can only make a limited number of these per day. However, that price is going way beyond Joe Barden, Jason Lollar, Bare Knuckles, Seymour Duncan Custom Shop prices.

The funny thing is most people I know who like/play PRS guitars always say that the pickups are the weak link on the guitar. I don't know how they justify these prices. The other PRS pickups run about $80 new so that's right in line with the market, but I don't get what they are thinking with prices that high.

Any thoughts, comments, explanations, screams, etc., from the peanut gallery?

Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 3463 Location: North Carolina

synzzzer wrote:

...However, that price is going way beyond ... Seymour Duncan Custom Shop prices...

http://proguitarshop.com/seymour-duncan-zephyr-silver-series-humbucker-set.html

...I'm just saying there are more ridiculously priced stuff out there, and to me if those pickups had the sound that I was looking for the 179 price tag wouldn't be a big deal, just to get closer to my sound.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

I always liked PRS pickups and never thought of them as the weak link on their guitars. To each his own though. Bareknuckle pickups are between $149 and $160 for singles so these aren't much farther off. That and you can't compare them really since Bareknuckle is a pickup company that doesn't make guitars. Laughing

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1370 Location: Lutz, Fl.

shread_bringer wrote:

synzzzer wrote:

...However, that price is going way beyond ... Seymour Duncan Custom Shop prices...

http://proguitarshop.com/seymour-duncan-zephyr-silver-series-humbucker-set.html

...I'm just saying there are more ridiculously priced stuff out there, and to me if those pickups had the sound that I was looking for the 179 price tag wouldn't be a big deal, just to get closer to my sound.

Well I can understand the Zephyrs costing that much since they use real silver. Since silver costs a lot, they are going to cost a lot. I still think the PRS's are overpriced, and not by just a little.

The regular Tremonti and other PRS series pickups all run about $80 new. I don't see why these should be $100 on top of that.

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1370 Location: Lutz, Fl.

Lanning is Killdozer wrote:

I always liked PRS pickups and never thought of them as the weak link on their guitars. To each his own though. Bareknuckle pickups are between $149 and $160 for singles so these aren't much farther off. That and you can't compare them really since Bareknuckle is a pickup company that doesn't make guitars. Laughing

Well for us in the U.S., Bare Knuckles have to get imported, and thus get import tax and a good amount of shipping added to them. It's like the folks in England pay more for Seymour Duncan pickups than Bare Knuckles for the same reasons.

I guess I just want PRS to post why they are pricing these particular pickups so high.

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 6:09 pm

I just got my credit card statement.., $317 total for 2 BKN Warpigs shipped from the UK.
That's top dollar in my books.., but worth it for me.

Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 797 Location: D.C. Metro

You already hit on the answer earlier. With the old machines and winding techniques they're using to make these pickups it's more time consuming and costly to produce them.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

synzzzer wrote:

Well for us in the U.S., Bare Knuckles have to get imported, and thus get import tax and a good amount of shipping added to them. It's like the folks in England pay more for Seymour Duncan pickups than Bare Knuckles for the same reasons.

I guess I just want PRS to post why they are pricing these particular pickups so high.

I'm quoting Bareknuckle prices from the US lol... Why not ask this question on the Birds and Moons forum? Or just call PRS and ask them? I'm sure they can answer you more accurately than any of us. Das Brutal knows all the guys at PRS though so I'm sure he can find out. Either way, if you want them you'll pay the price I guess. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 2:04 am

Because everything PRS is expensive.............take the knobs. They run 30 buck a pair Shocked

and I know PRS doesn't make them!